Building panel



Sept. 29, 1970 H D. scoTT BUILDING PANEL Filed May 29, 1968 Fig.8.

VINVIENTOR #4245 Y 0. scan- ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 52-460 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Building panel construction comprising a concealed fastener system for assembling either horizontal panels or vertical panels on a building wall frame. The concealed fastener system eliminates the necessity of access to the inside of the panels when assembling the wall panels, that is, of having a man on the inside to drill through and insert fasteners. Novel extruded clips or battens of aluminum, for example, are used in substantially U- shaped openings provided in opposed blocks which form side strips of the building panels. There is provided between the front faces of the panels a pre-molded filler and continuous bead of caulking to provide a sealed joint and yet to allow for ample expansion and contraction of the panels as the result of temperature changes.

This invention relates to a building panel construction. The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of the sides of the panels and in the provision of concealed fasteners for securing the sides together in a water-tight manner.

.An outstanding disadvantage of prior constructions of a building wall erected by assembling a plurality of panels, was the necessity of having access to the inside of the panels in order to apply or fasten the wall panels to the face of a building. It has been necessary to have a man on the inside of the panel drill through and insert fasteners onto building girts.

Another objection of building panels heretofore used is that suitable means were not provided for allowing sufiicient expansion and contraction between the ends of the panels and at the same time provide and maintain the required water-tight seal irrespective of expansion and contraction of the panels due to temperature changes.

An object of this invention is to provide a building panel construction or assembly which overcomes the abovementioned disadvantages of assemblies heretofore used.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a novel, concealed fastener system for fastening together and to girts of a building wall the panels of a wall, irrespective whether the panels extend horizontally or vertically.

Another specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel building wall assembly having suitable fastening means for holding together the sides of the joining panels in a manner so as to provide a water-tight, sealed joint which is maintained even after considerable expansion and contraction of the panels as the result of wide temperature changes.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study of the following description, taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1. is a partial or fragmentary, elevational view of horizontal panels assembled by the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, elevational view of vertical panels assembled by the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line VIVI of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 2.; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIIVIII of FIG. 6.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 3,, 4 of the drawing, showing a building wall constructed of horizontal panels, numeral 1 denotes such horizontal panels each, comprised of outer and inner, thin metal sheets, between which is formed a core 3 of rigid urethane foam or similar molded cellular insulation, preferably, foamedin-place material, which is rigid and unyieldable. Other suitable foam materials, including polystyrene or laminated urethane, may be used instead.

Along the ends of the respective panels 1 there are provided blocks 4, preferably of wood, which are grooved at 7 with an opening at the rear to form a somewhat U-shaped cross-section for each block so that the assembly provides a substantially U-shaped groove or opening. The rear portions of the blocks 4 are held together by a two piece batten 5, 6 (FIG. 3) preferably of extruded aluminum which is made continuous along the entire vertical joint. A screw 8 is provided for tightly clamping parts 5 and 6 of the batten together so as to firmly hold the wooden blocks 4, 4 in place and so as to provide a rear closure element. A continuous, pre-molded filler 9 is provided for concealing the batten and a continuous head of caulking 10-, preferably of clear material, is provided in the form of a continuous bead of about inch thickness.

FIG. 4 shows how the horizontal panels are connected together and to a building girt 13 in the form of an angle frame member. An extruded aluminum clip '11 is provided, which may be of the order of 2 inches long by inch, and which is substantially of the shape of the Greek letter pi that is, having 2 legs abutting or substantially abutting the front face of the girt 13 and having lateral extensions or lips which engage the inside surface of the groove formed in the wooden blocks 4. Actually one leg, namely, the lower leg as shown in FIG. 4, is of a slightly shorter length and is supported on a sealing strip 25, such as a vinyl foam caulking tape of about A; inch thick and 2 inches long.

A self tapping screw 12 fastens the aluminum clip 11 to girt 13 and firmly holds the adjoining wooden blocks 4 against the girt 13. A continuous, premolded filler 14 is provided covered with a continuous bead of caulking 15, such as clear caulking of about inch thick. Such filler 14 and caulking 15 allow for movement together and apart without affecting the water-tight seal between the ends of the panels 2 as the result of expansion and contraction resulting from wide temperature changes.

FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 show a vertical wall panel assembly comprising a plurality of vertically extending panels 2 which are attached to spaced, horizontally extending girts 13. As shown in FIG. 5, a two piece, continuous aluminum batten 5, 6, similar to that shown in FIG. 3, clamps together adjoining wooden blocks 4 by tightening of a screw 8, which batten is concealed by a continuous premolded tiller 9, such as that sold under the trademark Compriband which is covered by an continuous bead of caulking 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, a two piece continuous batten, preferably of extruded aluminum 16, 17 is provided and held together along a vertical joint by fastener 18 so as to tightly clamp the lip portions of the wooden blocks 4 and the rear surfaces of the panels 2. A caulking tape 27, preferably of vinyl foam provides a seal. A continuous premolded filler 9 of Compriband or other suitable material 19 may be used which is covered by a continuous bead of caulking 26 to provide a seal at the front of the joint. Thus the openings 7 in the wooden blocks are made water-tight and at the same time the panels 2 are enabled to expand and contract appreciably in response to wide ambient temperature changes without introducing moisture through either the rear or front of the joint between panels.

FIG. 7 shows the manner in which the vertical panels are fastened to a girt 13. A continuous, extruded aluminum batten 17 is provided with a continuous caulking tape 28, preferably of vinyl foam. Batten 17 is fastened by self tapping screw 20 to girt 13 and holds together adjoining wooden blocks 4. A continuous premolded filler 21 conceals the batten and the filler is covered by a continuous bead of caulking 22, preferably of the clear type.

As shown in FIG. 8, a hole 24 may be drilled, in the field or at the site, with a templet for receiving a galvanized clip 23 of L shape which is held in place by the fastener 18. The clips 23 may be fastened at four foot centers, or as required to resist vertical slipping of panels.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an efficient building wall construction which is suitable for assembling and holding against the outer face of the building, either vertically extending panels or horizontally extending panels by means of a fastening assembly which is concealed from view and which makes it unnecessary to have access to the inner surface of the panels for attaching the panels to the girts or other components of the building frame work; also, I have provided a novel joint between adjoining grooved sides of building panels which conceals the fasteners and at the same time permits ample expansion and contraction of the panels without affecting the moisture-proofness of the joint; also, I have provided a novel and very useful batten or clip for holding together the sides of the panels and at the same time for attaching it to the girt of the building.

While I have described several embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be made.

I claim:

1. A building wall panel assembly comprising adjoining panels, each having outside and inside thin shells between which is contained an insulating filler, each panel having an edge formed of a continuous block of solid material, confronting grooves in adjoining blocks of said panels communicatingwith an opening at the rear surface of the adjoining panels, and a fastening element of substantially the shape of the Greek letter pi having its lateral extensions projecting into said grooves and having its legs project substantially to the plane of said inside thin shell, and means for fastening said fastening element to an element engaging the outer surface of said inside thin shell, said lateral extensions and legs forming shoulderlike pockets for receiving rear lip portions of said confronting blocks.

2. A building wall panel assembly as recited in claim 1 together with a spacing between the front of the joint between adjacent panels filled with sealing and caulking material to allow separation or movement together of the edges of said blocks without introducing moisture to the interior of said joint and to conceal said fastening element.

3. A building wallpanel assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said element to which said fastening element is fastened is the girt of a building and wherein said fastening element is fastened to said girt by a self tapping screw.

4. A building wall panel assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said element to which said fastening element is fastened is a continuous batten of substantially pi shape and wherein said fastening means is a screw for holding together said fastener to said batten so as to tightly clamp confronting rear end portions of said adjoining panels.

5. A building wall panel assembly as recited in claim 4 wherein the front adjoining ends of said blocks are bridged by sealing material which conceals said fastening element and allows for expansion and contraction of said panels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,732 5/1939 Shannon 52471 X 2,438,140 3/1948 Auten 52-464 3,084,483 4/1963 Cipriani et al 52-235 X 3,147,336 9/1964 Mathews 52584 X 3,340,654 9/1967 Maier 52-235 X 3,446,340 5/1969 Mullen 52-403 X PRICE C. FAW, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

